Peter Morgan’s (Frost/Nixon, The Last King of Scotland, The Queen) script of Hereafter is a turn-around from his previous political themes to the speculation of the nature of life after death. This makes for an interesting yarn in the hands of veteran director Clint Eastwood (Gran Torino, Unforgiven, Million Dollar Baby), whose previous films delved into the extreme reaches of the human condition. They have a story to tell but, in this case, it is one that they have both gone on record admitting that they don’t necessarily believe in - that there is a kind of ‘life’ after death.

In this well acted drama about a blue-collar American psychic, George Lonegan (Matt Damon), a French journalist, Marie Lelay (Cecile De France), and a London schoolboy, Marcus (Frankie McLaren), we are taken on a journey with people who have been touched by death in different ways. And, understandably, their lives have been changed because of it.

The opening scene is up there as one of the most terrifying you will ever see on screen. A tsunami rips through an idyllic beach resort and the effects are absolutely staggering. You feel as if you are being dragged under the current with Marie as she struggles to survive. Little wonder the experience leaves her unable to carry on with her life as before, despite being at the pinnacle of her career; a highly successful news journo sought after both for her opinion and her appearance.

Meanwhile we meet George, who has a psychic gift but no longer wants to use it, believing it has ruined his life and his relationships. He is much happier just being a forklift driver, until he is made redundant. On the other side of the globe we meet Marcus and his twin brother Jason (George McLaren). They are trying to save themselves from being carted off in to care because their mother is a junkie. The film concentrates on these three characters whose stories, although quite disparate, meet up in the end.

However, it is a long journey and at times the story lags and seems to lose its direction. We want to believe that George’s powers are real and yet the scenes with other psychics show how they are mostly just fakers playing with people's emotions. Damon is believable most of the time, but we are still left wondering what the hell this is all about. Is there life after death? Who really knows? The closest is that some people have experienced the white light, the waiting figures and a feeling of peace after losing consciousness.

Sceptics and believers alike will have plenty to discuss and this is undoubtedly the director’s and the writer’s intention. The bottom line is that it makes you think about the inevitable and, perhaps more importantly, that you can’t live your life preoccupied with the idea of what happens after death – let’s face it, we won’t know for sure until we get there! We all have our own ideas and this is just one of them. Not one of Eastwood’s best, but it does have a sentimental side to it, enhanced by Eastwood’s rather soppy score. Perhaps it is his personal search for answers as he approaches life’s finishing line.

// SALT
moviereview colin fraser film movie australia review critic flicks HEREAFTER